THOMASVILLE- The Thomasville Police Department is pleased to announce that they have completed a pledge to ensure successful interactions between law enforcement and persons with mental health conditions and intellectual/developmental disabilities in the Thomasville community. The pledge is part of an initiative called the One Mind Campaign, which was started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the world’s largest and most influential professional association for police leaders.
To successfully complete the One Mind Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to establish a clearly defined and sustainable partnership with one or more community health organizations and develop and implement a model policy addressing law enforcement response to individuals with mental health conditions.
The Thomasville Police Department partnered with Benchmark Human Services and Georgia Pines to focus on uniting the local community, public safety organizations, and mental health organizations so that the three become united in serving citizens’ needs.
“I’m proud to partner with other local agencies with the same mind to serve those in need,” noted Thomasville Police Chief John Letteney. “Pledging to this campaign signifies our commitment to promote safe police interactions.”
Additionally, to complete the campaign, the Thomasville Police Department trained and certified 100% of officers (and selected non-sworn staff) in mental health response and awareness by training a minimum of 20% of sworn officers in Crisis Intervention Training (or an equivalent best practice crisis intervention training program); and provided Mental Health First Aid training or equivalent to the remaining 80 percent of officers (and selected non-sworn staff) within a 12-36 month period.
Letteney made the decision to join the One Mind Campaign to further highlight that success of policing relies not only on trust from the public but also on knowledge on how to handle persons with mental health conditions.
“We know part of the solution in responding to persons with mental illness is recognizing when someone is suffering,” said Letteney. “The Crisis Intervention and Mental Health First Aid training was crucial to Thomasville Police Department’s successful resolution rate.”
For more information about the One Mind Campaign, visit the IACP’s website at theiacp.org/one-mind-pledge. To learn more about the Thomasville Police Department or to review the One Mind Campaign document, visit thomasvillepolicega.org.